“…I never thought I’d actually lose my way from Truth…”
Somewhere in the Mist, Di Lisha, already dressed in her favorite gown, was slowly making her way toward the Fog Gate Plaza, relying on her instincts and following the two bonfires she had encountered along the way.
Perhaps she had been too absorbed in her walk, for when Di Lisha found her dress, she suddenly realized that Truth was no longer behind her!
Fortunately, she didn’t panic. Instead, she chose to return to the Fog Gate Plaza on her own.
After all, there was no need to worry about the Holy Maiden’s safety—unlike herself.
If she ran into a pack of Monsters, she might have to start over, so it was better to head back to the Fog Gate Plaza first…
In truth, when Truth cast her consciousness toward the Beast God, her physical body had stopped in place.
But Di Lisha hadn’t noticed and simply kept moving forward, eyes fixed ahead as she searched for her clothes.
So after advancing some distance, she was separated from Truth by the Mist and had little chance of finding her way back.
However, Truth hadn’t simply abandoned Di Lisha.
She cleared the path for her the entire way, keeping Monsters in the Mist from attacking her, and even used certain scenes to guide her in the right direction…
After returning to the Fog Gate Plaza, Di Lisha was about to breathe a sigh of relief when, the very next second, she was grabbed by a plainly dressed woman!
This stranger looked like a Mage, but she carried no Magic Staff, so Di Lisha guessed she might be a Summoner or a Contractist.
The stranger directly asked Di Lisha:
“Where’s the Holy Maiden? Didn’t she enter the Mist with you?”
“Huh?!” Di Lisha immediately went on guard.
“Um, who are you…”
Leila, a member of the Saint’s Shadow Guard, was silent for a moment before replying:
“I’m her friend. I have some matters regarding the Fog Gate Plaza’s management that I need to discuss with her. So where is the Holy Maiden?”
“Uh… I accidentally got separated from her in the Mist…”
“I see… May I ask what you two went to do?”
“Nothing… nothing much, just a simple walk. We went to a Misty Pond, then walked back together. It was on the way back that I turned around and found the Holy Maiden was gone.”
“Alright, thank you.” Leila didn’t press further. She quickly left the scene and melted into the crowd, leaving Di Lisha alone…
In a secluded corner of the Fog Gate Plaza, Nimrod quietly watched Di Lisha sit down in the nearby Student Rest Area to wait for her father, Di Lun, to finish exploring the Mist and return. Soon, Leila suddenly appeared before him and said:
“That girl wasn’t lying. The Ninth Saintess got separated from her. We might need to wait a while longer.”
“Fine, wait another hour. If there’s no result after an hour, we’ll have to take action. Also, that girl’s father seems to have run into some trouble—their whereabouts appear to have been discovered by the Blasphemers of the Radical Faction.”
…
Northern Region, Peak of the North.
The Beastmen living at the foot of the Peak of the North had, over the years, frequently noticed a strange phenomenon—a series of faint blue lights would ignite one after another along the mountain range of the Peak of the North.
Some Beastmen, driven by curiosity, wanted to investigate, but unfortunately, heavy snow fell here year-round.
From a distance, nothing could be seen.
Getting closer was even less feasible, for the Peak of the North was far too treacherous.
Without strength at Nine-Rank or above, few Beastmen dared to challenge that place…
At this very moment, that series of faint blue lights once again flared from the foot of the Peak of the North all the way to the summit, drawing the attention of several young Beastmen.
As always, the glowing phenomenon lasted only a few seconds.
A few seconds later, Vira, the imperial princess of the North Empire and Clan Chief of the Northern Family, appeared at the summit of the Peak of the North.
That series of faint blue lights wasn’t some special natural phenomenon—it was the Staircase Teleportation Device that the Northern Family had secretly built with all their heart and soul!
After tidying herself up a bit, Vira walked with practiced ease into the Frozen Temple of the Beast God.
After obtaining the intelligence her daughter had traded from the Mist—the method to “bypass the Divine Blockade and ascend to King Rank”—Vira and the others had spent a long time discussing it with the Beast God.
In response, the Beast God said it might be worth trying.
Although the method for ascending to King Rank given by the Mist sounded absurd and somewhat fantastical, it was precisely because of that the Beast God intended to let Vira give it a shot.
After all, sometimes when something seemed too fake, it just might be real…
Vira had come this time to report on her progress—she’d made a major discovery.
“Beast God, I’m here.” Before even reaching the depths of the Frozen Temple, Vira called out to the Beast God within. Though she knew the Beast God had already sensed her arrival, the courtesy of greeting couldn’t be skipped.
Before Celos was born, Vira had been the Beast God’s favorite little cat for a very long time.
And the reason the Beast God doted on her was simple—young Vira was especially mischievous and clever, adding a bit of amusement to the Beast God’s dull divine life.
Combined with the Beast God’s naturally approachable personality, on top of handling important matters that required attention, Vira would occasionally run over to chat with the Beast God, treating Him entirely like a kind and understanding elder.
And every time she came to the Frozen Temple, the Beast God would greet Vira with a smile. After the work was done, the two would chat, without fail.
This time, however, Vira noticed something unexpected.
When Vira walked into the depths of the Frozen Temple to pay her respects to the Beast God, her first sight was the Beast God elegantly lounging atop the massive ice throne, no different from usual.
Her second sight, however, was a petite girl with silver-white shoulder-length short hair beneath the Beast God.
“Huh?”
The presence of the unfamiliar girl immediately put Vira on high alert, full attention sharpened. At the same time, she wondered in her mind—where did this girl come from, and how did she get to the summit of the Peak of the North?
Through her own Staircase Teleportation?
That seemed impossible. Every use of the teleportation device was recorded, and the Energy consumption didn’t match either, so that possibility could be ruled out…
Or did she walk straight up?
If that were really the case, then Vira would genuinely be afraid. After all, the entrance Mist of the Peak of the North required at least Nine-Rank to even step in! And Nine-Rank was just the entry—to reach the summit, it might take more than Nine-Rank alone!
In other words, if this girl really did walk up here, her Rank was likely above Ninth-tier and below King Rank, or perhaps even King Rank! Without knowing the situation, Vira assessed that her own combat ability wasn’t great—she might not even beat an ordinary King Rank… So if that short-haired girl turned out to be extremely powerful, she could threaten both her and the Beast God’s safety!
But Vira didn’t cower. She continued to approach. To avoid startling the unaware short-haired girl, Vira’s steps grew softer, and her hands slowly reached for the two special daggers at her waist…
Just as her hands were about to touch the daggers, the Beast God and the small girl beneath Him suddenly turned their heads toward Vira at the same time, both wearing smiles. Then the Beast God spoke calmly:
“Vira, you’re here? Perfect, come over. Let me introduce you to my old friend, Truth.”
“Old friend?”
Vira tilted her head, her drooping Cat Ears beginning to twitch constantly, as if deep in thought.
The Beast God had suddenly produced a friend out of nowhere, and had never mentioned it before—that felt seven or even eight parts strange…
Meanwhile, while Vira was thinking from afar, the Beast God secretly shot Truth a look and used Divine Authority to transmit a message:
“Please, sis, do me a favor and play along. I’m willing to share some divine secrets with you afterward, or the whereabouts of a Legendary Weapon!”
……